Lorenzo Romar on Oregon: “There’s a lot to be concerned about”

(On Oregon) “Where do I start. They’re very good in transition. They have multiple guys that can put the ball in the basket. They are good in the half court. There’s a reason why the are one of the top teams in the country. They don’t have many weaknesses. They shoot the ball from outside. They change defenses very well. There’s a lot to be concerned about.”

(On getting UW right) “If our pattern holds true, there is a very healthy respect for Oregon. So I think because of that, I think our team will come out and be focused. What that will translate into, I don’t know. But we’ll be focused. I don’t think there has to be a whole lot of yelling or whatever it is. I think we’ll be fine in terms of our approach.”

(On what’s gone wrong lately) “I think right now as a group, we have to grow up quickly and make sure we fear every team that we play – respect every team. I’m sorry. Respect. There needs to be a healthy fear, but respect. I think in our last two ball games we saw the records of the opponents that we were playing and didn’t come out with quite the edge that we had in the other four games. I think that’s been a difference in our team. We hadn’t put the ball in the basket very well in a couple of those games, but our defense sustained us. That’s what it has to be. We have to play defense and rebound and play with a high-level of intensity and that’s the only way we’ll have a chance to be competitive.”

(On surprise veteran team not playing well) “It should be better. No doubt about it, it should be. And like I said that same veteran team did what they were supposed to do in the first four, but now in the last couple we’ve not done it as much.”

(On playing zone defense) “It’s a great example of we were talking about earlier in the year with our offense that if you’re not getting anything out of one (high post offense and motion offense), maybe you change up and go to something else to see what happens there, maybe that loosens them up and we had did that couple of times offensively. Well it’s the same thing we did defensively. That’s not what we’re going out and trying to do. We’re not a zone team, but we were looking at something to change the pace of the game. If we’re in that position again and we have to look at something to change the pace, maybe we do it again. I know the game before against Utah, we did it four times. Two times we got stops and then the next two they got a wide open three and a wide open layup so we got out of it. We’re a man-to-man team, but we’ll make an adjustment and try something else if need be.”

(On Saturday being a tipping-point game) “Whenever we start talking about that, we start talking about the outcome and not the process. Sometimes if you’re focused on the outcome – we have to win, we have to do this – you forget about the process. Right now we need to worry about the process. Are we going to come to play? Are we going to have a high-level of intensity? Are we going to focus and execute. Those are the things we have to concentrate on. If we do those, then we’ll be OK. But if we don’t do those and we just worry about winning and losing the game, we can come out thinking winning the game and not make sure we take care of the details with the process.”

(On Oregon) “If they get out and they’re kicking the ball ahead and they’re hitting threes and they’re getting uncontested layups and things of that nature, then it’s going to be a very, very long night. We have to make sure that we’re organized defensively. That would be one. Then as they change their defense, we’re going to have to make sure that we don’t become stagnant. We have to continue to maintain an offensive flow.”

(On past games vs. Oregon) “The atmosphere, I’m sure is going to be great. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. We’re talking about the last game, but as you guys definitely remember that wasn’t the case at Oregon last year. So let’s just hope the game is played a lot more like it was in the NIT then it was at their place last year.”

(On playing a ranked team) “The ranking part of it for us right now I think, the only reason that is relevant to us I think is we go in with a healthy respect for them. If they weren’t ranked, Colorado was not ranked when we played them. But our team had a really healthy respect for them. Stanford, Cal and Washington State were not ranked, but when we went on the road we knew that if we didn’t bring it, we could fall short. I think that applies here. Obviously the ranking doesn’t take away from that fact.”

(On practice this week) “Just trying to make sure we understand what kind of team we are if we don’t come in with the focus at the beginning of the game. And working on some things in terms of execution offensively and defensively.”

(On Scott Suggs) “Scott right now needs to concentrate on rebounding, a little more on rebound. I think him being a senior and being able to score the ball, I think maybe sometimes he gets a little anxious. I think if he were a little more patient, I think he’d have better results. It’s something him and I have talked about. I think he’s smart enough to figure that out. I think he’ll be fine. He began to hit more shots the last game against Oregon State. I’m sure he’ll be a little more consistent here.”

(On Suggs trying find his way in the offense) “I think sometimes he feels maybe a burden to help us because we haven’t been scoring a lot of points and haven’t been shooting a high field-goal percentage. Sometimes he feels like you know what I got to help my team, I got to score points because I know I can do this. I think that maybe where it stems from at times.”

(On Suggs going one-on-one) “Maybe so. Just again, he believes in himself. He’s a very confident player. He’s a good scorer. Like I said, I think there’s time where he feels like if I don’t help this team and score and just stand around and pass the ball, I’m letting my team down. I think he feels like he has to be more aggressive at times.”

(On UW’s health) “Very good.”

(On changing the lineup) “No.”

(On Wednesday-Saturday format) “We talked about this last week with Cal and Stanford and I didn’t know. It worked out in that instance. Here’s another week. We’ll see what happens this time, but again I’m not sure about it. It is – how do I best say it – it is hard to get into maybe a pattern, a rhythm because we’re flying back. We got back at 2:30 in the morning. Guys are going to school. And you have to adjust how you practice that way. After getting back at 2:30 in the morning and then coming back and having a really hard practice may not be the wisest thing to do. You don’t to really go long the day before so we just have to figure that out how we want to best maximize our practices.”